The present invention relates to a vending machine accepting coins, and more particularly, to a vending machine in which fraudulent use with false coins can be largely prevented.
Generally, vending machines can sell various kinds of merchandise without necessitating human help, so that due to this convenience they are used in a wide variety of usage forms and they are installed in numerous places.
Such vending machines accept either coins only or bills and coins, and in particular coins are sorted into true or false by electrically or mechanically discriminating their material, diameter, surface pattern, etc.
However, among the coins of the world, there are coins that are very similar with regard to material, diameter, and surface pattern, and there are numerous incidents, in which such coins are treated and applied to fraudulent use with vending machines of another country. This is done by slotting into a vending machine a large amount of false coins corresponding to a certain denomination, and then either pressing the return button or pressing the return button after purchasing the merchandise of the lowest price.
That is to say, in vending machines that accept coins, the coins are reused as change, so that the coins that can be used as change are temporarily accumulated in an accumulation device also known as the coin tube, and for a sale of merchandise that requires change, the change is disbursed using the coins that have accumulated in the coin tube.
Therefore, when a large amount of false coins corresponding to a certain denomination is slotted into a vending machine, and then either the return button is pressed or the return button is pressed after purchasing the merchandise of the lowest price, then true coins accumulated in the coin tube are returned for the slotted false coins or as change, so that it is possible to get hold of the true coins in the vending machine, in exchange for the false coins.
In particular in recent vending machines, there is the tendency to enlarge the number of coins that can be accumulated in the coin tubes, in order to eliminate shortages of coins for change, which leads to a situation in which a large amount of true coins can be lifted from a vending machine with a fraudulent operation using these false coins.
Conventional methods for preventing fraudulent operation of vending machines using false coins include:
1) Increasing the precision with which coins are sorted into true and fraudulent; and
2) Prohibiting the use of coins that can be used fraudulently.
However, increasing the precision with which coins are sorted into true and fraudulent as in method 1) may lead to a situation in which, due to the increase of the precision with which coins are sorted into true and false coins that were previously accepted as true are now sorted as fraudulent.
That is to say, due to circulation, a certain degree of deformation, damage, etc. to the coins used in vending machines cannot be avoided, so that when the precision with which coins slotted into a vending machine are sorted into true and fraudulent is increased, then true coins with a certain degree of deformation, damage, etc. will be regarded as false coins and returned as well, so that the person servicing the vending machine will loose a valuable sales opportunity, and when slotted coins are not accepted and returned even though they are true, then the user of the vending machine will be hampered in his regular use of the vending machine and his mistrust in vending machines may increase.
Furthermore, if the use of coins that can be used fraudulently is prohibited as in method 2), then this causes some inconvenience if the coins that can be used fraudulently are, for example, the coins with the largest denomination accepted by this vending machine, but the function of the vending machine as such can be maintained.
However, if the coins that can be used fraudulently are coins with the denomination used most with this vending machine, then a regular functioning of the vending machine cannot be maintained.
That is to say, in method 1) of increasing the precision with which coins are sorted into true and fraudulent, there are intrinsic limits with regard to the increase of the precision, and method 2) of prohibiting the use of coins that can be used fraudulently, cannot be applied to cases where the coins that can be used fraudulently are coins with the denomination used most with this vending machine.
It is an object of the present invention to provide a vending machine, with which the fraudulent use with false coins of various denominations can be prevented effectively.
In order to achieve this object, the present invention is characterized in that a vending machine counting amount of slotted money, vending merchandise within a range of the counted amount of slotted money, and returning money corresponding to a return amount based on a refund instruction, comprises counting means for counting, by denomination, the number of slotted coins of the slotted money, setting means for setting, by denomination, an administrative value indicating number of slotted coins that is acceptable in one vending operation, and refund prohibiting means for prohibiting a coin refund operation based on the refund instruction, when the number of slotted coins counted by the counting means is equal to or larger than the administrative value set with the setting means.
Alternatively, the present invention is characterized in that a vending machine having a main control unit and a coin processing unit, wherein the main control unit counts amount of slotted money based on communication with the coin processing unit, calculates amount of money to be returned based on a refund request from the coin processing unit and gives the coin processing unit a refund instruction to refund coins corresponding to this amount of money to be returned, and wherein the coin processing unit returns coins based on this refund instruction, comprises counting means for counting, by denomination, the number of slotted coins, setting means for setting, by denomination, an administrative value indicating number of slotted coins that is acceptable in one vending operation, and prohibiting means for prohibiting sending of the refund request to the main control unit, if the number of slotted coins counted by the counting means is equal to or larger than the administrative value set with the setting means.
Alternatively, the present invention is characterized in that a vending machine counting amount of slotted money, vending merchandise within a range of the counted amount of slotted money, and returning money corresponding to a return amount based on a refund instruction, comprises a calculation means for calculating difference between the slotted coins in the amount of slotted money and the amount of money to be returned, and reception prohibiting means for prohibiting the reception of coins for a predetermined period of time after money corresponding to the amount to be returned is returned based on the refund instruction, if, the difference between the slotted coins in the amount of slotted money and the amount of money to be returned calculated by the calculation means is within a predetermined value.
Alternatively, the present invention is characterized in that a vending machine counting amount of slotted money, vending merchandise within a range of the counted amount of slotted money, and returning money corresponding to a return amount based on a refund instruction, comprises an slotted coin counting means for counting, by denomination, the number of slotted coins of the slotted money, setting means for setting, by denomination, an administrative value indicating number of slotted coins that is acceptable in one vending operation, a return operation counting means for counting number of coin return operations, based on the refund instruction given when the number of slotted coins counted by the slotted coin counting means is equal to or higher than the administrative value set with by setting means, and reception prohibiting means for prohibiting reception of coins when the number of coin return operations counted by the return operation counting means has reached a predetermined value.
Alternatively, the present invention is characterized in that a vending machine counting amount of slotted money, vending merchandise within a range of the counted amount of slotted money, and returning money corresponding to a return amount based on a refund instruction, comprises an slotted coin counting means for counting, by denomination, the number of slotted coins of the slotted money, setting means for setting, by denomination, an administrative value indicating number of slotted coins that is acceptable in one vending operation, a return operation counting means for counting number of return operations, when the refund instruction is given without sale of merchandise, and reception prohibiting means for prohibiting reception of coins if the refund instruction is given when the number of slotted coins counted by the slotted coin counting means is equal to or larger than the administrative value set with the setting means, and the refund instruction is issued without sale of merchandise, and if the number of return operations counted by the return operation counting means has reached a predetermined value.